Surprise! A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is in the works—with a major twist

This year's CinemaCon unsurprisingly brought a long list of movie announcements, with many met with widespread praise and others causing major disappointment. As for titles somewhere in the middle comes a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with a major twist. No, you should not be bringing your children to see this one in theaters. Not only is it live-action, but it's also rated R.

As reported by Deadline, the new TMNT movie, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, was announced by Paramount this week, coming from producer Walter Hamada and his production company 18hz. Tyler Burton Smith has been tapped to write the script, who is best known for writing the screenplay for the 2019 Child's Play movie, along with the upcoming film Boy Kills World.

This R-rated entry in the iconic TMNT franchise will adapt the comic series of the same name, written by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz based on a story by Eastman and Peter Laird. The Hollywood Reporter calls this story "about as terrifying as a Turtles tale can get." You can read the official synopsis for the Last Ronin comic below to get an idea of what the movie will be all about:

"Who is the Last Ronin? In a future, battle-ravaged New York City, a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost. From legendary TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, get ready for the final story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles three decades in the making! What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York a crumbling, post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic Turtle tale that sees longtime friends becoming enemies and new allies emerging in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph?"

Could this be a full-out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle horror movie? The exact genre hasn't been confirmed, but I'm liking the sound of this! The Last Ronin will mark the seventh movie in the TMNT franchise, as well as the first R-rated movie. While the reboot movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) were more mature than their predecessors, they were still relatively family-friendly with PG-13 ratings.

The last TMNT movie we got wasn't far back, as you'll recall, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem debuting in 2023. The entry made $180.5 million at the worldwide box office, enough to spawn an upcoming TV series and a sequel film.

At this time, no director nor cast for The Last Ronin has been decided, but considering the movie was just announced, that's not surprising. Are you ready to see R-rated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen?